1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for using coal mine water runoff and to methods and systems for raising fish, and more particularly relate to methods and systems for using coal mine water runoff and to methods and systems for raising cold water fish.
2. Description of the Related Art
Historically, coal mines in mountainous sedimentary rock formations, such as those found in the states of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, have often suffered from undesired high flow rates of water therein from the surrounding sedimentary rock. These coal mines are often located elevationally between the top of the mountains (hills) and the valleys (base) of the mountains (hills), thereby creating a potential hydraulic head between rainfall contacting and seeping into the upper elevations of the mountain and the coal mine in the intermediate portion of the mountain. This hydraulic head and rainfall have coupled to produce high flow rates of water into these coal mines which had to be diverted in active coal mines by pumping therefrom to permit removal of coal and have resulted in often undesired high volumes of water effluent from inactive coal mine creating some concerns for the mine owners if the water contained undesirably high levels of nitrogen, iron or sulfur, or contained undesirably low levels of oxygen, in view of the potential impact to fish populations in adjacent streams.
Simultaneously, fish farming operations have typically struggled to find ideal water sources for their farming operations. Water sources for raising various different types of fish need to have various different characteristics or need to be modified to have the desired characteristics. For example, in Northern Canada, water from a zinc mine is pumped to the surface at around 3 degrees Celsius (Centigrade) and needs to be heated prior to contacting the fish in the fish farm. The preheating (temperature adjustment) and pumping of the water can add a substantial and undesired expense to the fish farming operation.
Various breeds of fish have different optimum growing temperatures. For example, in temperate climates, the fish which have evolved in those climates need relatively warm water compared to fish in arctic climates which need relatively cooler water for their optimum growing conditions. Consequently, conventional wisdom has often focused on raising warm water fish in warm climates and cold water fish in cold climates. For example, various fish farms have been developed which raise the fish in existing bodies of surface water, but such bodies of water are often subject to some temperature fluctuations and/or to contamination with native parasites (molds, fungi, bacteria, and other organisms) which can kill substantial portions of the fish population or can substantially weaken the populations and decrease their growth rates. Consequently, there is a desire to provide constant, optimal water temperatures for raising fish populations and there is desire to provide organism free water sources. Prior attempts to find and utilize constant temperature water sources have typically focused on aquifers, such as are used in many fish farms in Idaho, but such aquifers experience water usage demands from multiple sources including grain agriculture which could eventually diminish the availability of such a water source to the regional fish farms or could be depleted to the point that pumping of the water would be required to bring the water to the surface. Additionally, there is a high demand for various cold water fish species, but as painted out above various of the farming methods for these fish have had problems.
Additionally, fish farms have been created by pumping water from active and inactive coal mines (see for example of a pump based system see an article by Edsel E. Redden, Minefish Thriving in Fayette County fall 1993 Green Lands magazine) but such pump based systems risk economic unfeasibility due to equipment costs and power costs. Many coal mines are located in remote regions, and a fish farm based on such mines utilizing a pumping system will risk power outages thereby either exposing the fish farm to lost production and lost aquatic life due to a prolonged stoppage of water flow or will require the expenditure of funds to provide an adequate backup generator. Additionally, fish farms which have used ponds, risk environmental temperature fluctuations that can negatively impact the growth rate of the fish being farmed.
Consequently, there is a need for a reliable means for utilizing coal mine effluent water and there is a need for providing a reliable source of organism free constant temperature (at a desired temperature) high flow rate (free flowing) water for raising cold water fish species.